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Local State Representative Commends Governor's Realistic View
A local lawmaker says the governor's budget address today acknowledged one of the bigger problems facing past budgets.

74th District State Representative Don Moffitt says Governor Pat Quinn's address to the General Assembly in Springfield for once offered a realistic look at the state's fiscal situation.

"Budgets for many years in the past were dilusional, or not based on reality, and this is what's reality now, which is important," Moffitt said. "That's what we need to have, if it had been reality all along we wouldn't have gotten into the problem that we're in."

"Everything seems to be on the table, (and) I think that needs to happen."

Moffitt says it won't be easy changing the direction of the state.

The Gilson Republican says a key component from Quinn's remarks was to make stake holders a part of those discussions moving forward. He says otherwise, there will be no solutions to getting the fiscal house in order.

The budget address keyed pension reform and medicaid restructuring that Quinn hopes can be accomplished before the Spring Session ends. The democrat Wednesday also announced 59 closures or consolidations of state facilities.

One of those consolidations includes the merger of Centralia's Department of Agriculture Animal Disease Lab to the one in Galesburg. Moffitt says he hopes that will add jobs in Knox County.
02 23 12 by Newsroom
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